In this handbook, you will find the inspiration and the practical guidance you need to start your own gifted program!

Gifted programs have the potential to change lives, but they can be difficult to develop and sustain without the appropriate research and guidance. This book gives you the nuts and bolts needed to design and implement a gifted program to maximize the benefits to students, teachers, schools, and parents.

In this comprehensive volume, best-selling author Joan Franklin Smutny brings some of the leading gifted educators together under the aegis of the National Association of Gifted Children. Lending editorial guidance and her own contributions, Smutny directs the individual expertise of each contributor, with chapters that include guidelines for:

• Designing and implementing curriculum for pre-K through middle school
• Identifying and selecting the best teachers
• Creating the vital support networks among parents, school, and community
• Assessing the program's impact on children, parents, and teachers
• Developing special programming for the disadvantaged gifted students

The book offers several examples of different learning experiences that fall under the definition of a gifted program, as well as a chapter that outlines all of the essentials for starting a gifted program, including sample forms and letters.